January 28, 2015

Faculty Team Up for Fresh New Album

Recent GRAMMY winning artist and head of CIM’s guitar department Jason Vieaux has teamed up with internationally acclaimed soloist and CIM harp department head Yolanda Kondonassis for a new album entitled Together, which released this week on Azica Records. The CD is a true CIM production. It was produced by Alan Bise, director of recording arts and services and the recording engineer was Bruce Egre, head of the audio recording degree program. The album features new works for the harp and guitar including “Knock on Wood,” composed by head of CIM’s composition department Keith Fitch.

Vieaux and Kondonassis are veterans of the recording world, both having recorded more than a dozen albums. However, Together marks the first album featuring only the duo on harp and guitar. Although the guitar and harp are seemingly similar in tone and texture, the album offers a fresh look at the instruments, featuring special effects such as knocking, harmonics, whistles and more, many of which play a center role in Fitch’s appropriately named piece, “Knock on Wood.” The tracks also play with blending and contrast and at times it’s difficult to discern who is playing, while other moments reveal sounds that couldn’t be more different.

“I’ve always been obsessed with trying to make my sound as warm as possible,” says Kondonassis. “It’s so refreshing for me to play off Jason’s warmth sometimes and be the spice, the acidic texture in the mix for a change.”

Together is available for download on Azica Records through iTunes and on CD at amazon.com. To hear more about the album from the artists themselves, check out their YouTube video here.